Full Text Primary Sources:
Letters written by the Pilgrims

• Pastor John Robinson's farewell letter to the Pilgrims.  This letter was read to everyone before they set sail from England to America.
• Robert Cushman's letter to Edward Southworth.  Describes the frustrations prior to the Mayflower's voyage, particularly regarding the Speedwell.  The first part of the letter is seen in the image below.
• William Hilton to his family (1621).  A letter written from Plymouth by Fortune passenger William Hilton to a cousin in England.
• John Pory's letters (1622).  An official from Jamestown, Virginia, he visited Plymouth in 1622.
• Letter of William Bradford and Isaac Allerton (1623).  Describes events following the arrival of the ships Anne and Little James in 1623.
• Emmanuel Altham's letters (1623-1624).  Altham came on the Little James in 1623.
• Isaac de Rasieres' letter (1628).  Contains one of the best physical descriptions of early Plymouth.
• William Bradford's Letterbook, by William Bradford.  This is a transcription of the letters that Governor William Bradford received between 1624 and 1630.

Excerpt from letter of Robert Cushman to Edward Southworth, August 1620.
Transcribed by William Bradford into his manuscript history, Of Plymouth Plantation.